By Michael Guerin
When it comes to Monbet a bad draw usually only means a better dividend.
Because while some punters will have reservations about taking odds-on about the trotting champ from three on the second line in the NZ Free-For-All at Addington today, his record would suggest it probably won’t matter.
Monbet hasn’t lost a race in New Zealand for over a year and has only one defeat in that time, ironically when he drew well but didn’t have the gate speed to use it and generally looked out of sorts in the Trotting Grand Prix in Australia last February.
He has won 11 of his last 12 starts and almost all have been from poor draws. The exceptions being when he drew barrier two and smashed Stent in a mile at Methven last December and when he started from the ace before downing Speeding Spur in the Anzac Cup at Alexandra Park.
His other nine wins in the last year have come from barriers 7 (three times), 8, 10, 11 and from handicaps of 20m (twice) and 30m.
So basically Monbet almost always draws poorly and almost always wins.
The reason is his obvious superiority but also the fact he has speed like a pacer but his French trotting blood enables him to sustain that sprint for a long time.
So the $1.60 from the second line today is probably fair, especially as Marcoola looks his only in-form rival with the speed to match Monbet, or at least go close to doing so.
Marcoola’s open class debut third behind Monbet in the Flying Mile at Ashburton two weeks ago was good enough to suggest that if he jumps straight to the front today he will give Monbet a decent target to chase.
But the reality is Monbet has sat parked outside horses at least as good as Marcoola and beaten them before and that is factoring in that Marcoola can, and will, get the front, which is far from guaranteed.
So quite simply anything but another victory for Monbet today would come as a shock.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
